Controlling mechanism for ships&#39; gyroscopes



Y E. A. SPERRY. CONTROLLING lMECHANISM FOR SHIPS GYROSCOPES.

APPLCATION FILED JAN. 25, 19|6.

Patented June 1, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l OIM/E77 E. A. SPERRY.

CONTROLLING M ECHANISM FOR SHIPS GYROSCOPI-IS.V

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 25. I9I6. y A Lg?, Patented June l, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

/m/E/vof? ELMER A. SPERRY Ma/.JMA y E. A. SPERRY.

CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR SHIPS GYROSCOPES.

APPLICATION FILED IAN.25. I9Ie.

1,342,397. Patented June 1, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

/II/I/E/von ELM/SP A. SRERPY Fil/M2. l W

vUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELMER A. SPERRY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO SPERRY GYROSCOPECOMPANY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

CONTROLLIN Gr MECHANISM FOR SHIPS GYROSCOPES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1, 1920.

Applicationv led January 2,5,l 1916. Serial No. 74,075.

. lTo all whom, t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ELMER A. SPERRY, a

i citizen of the United States, residing at 100 ship or for rolling it,or both rolling and" stabilizing at the option of the commander.` Themain objects of this invention are to' improve upon the system ofcontrol and lu- Y brication of these gyroscopes.

Referring to drawings in which what I now consider to be the preferredforms of myl invention are shown: Figure 1 is fa side elevation of agyroscope as installed upon a ship. Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof.Fig. 3 is a detail of the brake which operates to limit the oscillationsof the gyroscope-this view being a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Figs.4 and 5 are transverse and vlongitudinal sections respectively of thelimit stop. Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the circuit breaking switcheson the gyro-V scope. Fig. 7 is an elevation partly in section of theauxiliary or control. gyroscope which governs or. times the,.l movementof the main gyroscope. Fig.f8"'-1sfan enlarged detail of a controlswitch on the auxiliary gyroscope. Fig. 9 is an enlarged section of thethrust bearing used on the worm shaft of the transmission gearingbetween the precessionmotor and the gyroscope. Fig. 10 is an elementarywiring diagram on the control connections 4and contacts. Fig. 11 is anenlarged section of the upper and lower bearings of the main gyroscope,showing, however, a slight modilication in the oiling system. Fig. 12 isa detail of the oil gear pump used in connection therewith. Fig.

, 18 is a detail yof themodified'form of oil elevating pipe.

The main gyroscope as shown, comprises a rotor bearing'frame'l, which issupported in the horizontal pie'cession gudgeons 2 and placed crosswiseon the ship as indicated by the arrow vin Fig. 2 representing the foreand aft line ofthe ship. The rotor 4 is supported in vertical bearings 5and 6 within the frame and may be driven by any suitable means such asthe armature 7 of an electric motor which may be built directl on theshaft of the rotor as indicated in Fig. 1. I prefer to construct therotor bearings as indicated in Fig. 11. The main rotor shaft 8 ismadehollow and isvsuspended from the thrust bearing 9 from the top ofcasing 1 by means of a long, comparatively slender, resilient rod 10.Throughout the greater portion of its length it is spaced from the innerwalls of shaft 8 so that vibration of the shaft will not beV transmittedthereto. It is enlarged within one of thel bearings at 10 to center itin the shaft, but is only secured to the shaft at its lower end 11 wherethe rod is enlarged and serves to support the entire weight of the rotor4 and shaft 8. Nuts 12 and 112 are secured to each end `of the rotorshaft to hold the inner races 103 ofbearings 5 and 6 in place upon thetapered ends of shaft 8, and also in the case of nut 12 to prevent thespreading of the shaft, where the .wedging action of the( coneis'exerted upon the end of the rod 10. The thrust bearing 9 ispreferably of the antifriction type being shown as a ball-bearinguniversally4 supported at the top of the casing 1. The large radialbearings 5 and 6 are preferably also of the antifriction type, beingshown as a special type of roller bearing. .The rollers 13 are supportedin a cage or retainer 14 which comprises a plurality of sections 15 and16 riveted or otherwise secured together between the rollers asindicated at 17. Pref erably small balls 18 are interposed between'fvthe ends of the rollers and the cage to reduce friction at these points.

The ends 101 of therollers are preferably beveled and the inner race 103is provided with an annular depression 102 in which the rollers rest.rIhe outer race 104, however, has no depressed portion, so that therollers are free longitudinally therein. This construction not onlyfacilitates the assembling of the bearing parts but allows freeeXpansion and contraction of shaft 8, which feature becomes quite animportant advantage in the art of stabilizing gyroscopes. AnotherVadvantage is that it Ydoes not permit the bearings 5 and 6 to support'any of the weight of the rotor, but allows the entire '104 isuniversally mounted on blocks 105 in frame 1.

In order to lubricate and cool these bearings, oil is introduced througha pipe 20 into the top of casing 1 where it lubricates bearing 9. Fromthence it flows down through small openings 21 into and through bearing5 and -into receptacle 22. From thence it is led by pipe 23 into a lowerreceptacle 24 where it iows into and through the lower radial bearing 6.In Fig. 11 the oil is shown as elevated from the oil well 6 at thebottom of bearing 6 up to the top of the casing so that it may be usedagain by means of Small gear pump 25, which is operated by means of agear 26 secured to the retainer 14 of the bearing 6 with which the idler27 which drives the gear pump meshes.

By using the retainer 14 to drive the pump, a much slower' speed isattained than if the shaft 8 were used. In gyroscopes, which areoperated .normally at high speed, this becomes quite an advantage. InFigs. 1 and 2 a different system is employed for elevating the oil,which renders unnecessary the employment of a pump for this purpose. Asis well known, a gyroscope, especially of the active type, mounted on ashipin a fairly rough sea will oscillate continuously on its precessionbearings to the full extent permitted by the construction.This'phenomenon is made use of to elevate the oil by employing aninclined coil or duct 30, which rises from the base of bearing 6 to thetop of bearing 9 in a series of reverse bends. The coil is so designedthat when the gyroscope swings to the left in Fig. 2, for instance, theoil will run down into the reverse bend 31, so that when the gyroscopeswings over an equivalent amount to the right the oil there entrappedwill flow down into the next reverse bend 32, and so on until the oilhas risen to the top of the casing. In order to prevent the oil fromrunning back through the tube from the reverse bends when the gyroscopeswings in the opposite direction it may be found desirable to providevents 33 which will allow the oil beyond the bend to run down into thenext rcverse bend and prevent it from being drawn v back into the pipeinto the convolution below. These vents may be closed by the flap valve34 as indicated in Fig. 13, or a tube 1347 or tubes, may be connectedthereto which rise above the normal level of the oil by being connectedto a normally vertical pipe 135 so that the oil cannot escape therefromduring the oscillations of the gyroscope.

In order to cool the rotor bearings, coollng ribsor vanes 35 may beprovided on the oil pipes as shown in Fig. 11. I find, however, a mosteffective means to effect this result is to provide a large oil tank 36adjacent the base of the gyroscope in which the lower bearing of thegyroscope normally is immersed and through which it swings when thegyroscope is operating. This oil bath is found to effectively cool thegyroscope, as, in operation, the-gyroscope will continuously splashthrough it and thereby cause a constant circulation of the oil.

Ihe precession engine or motor is shown at 40. As explained in my priorpatents above referred to, this motor performs a very important functionin accelerating the precession at proper times and thus suppressing theincipientI tendency of the ship to roll before it has become noticeable.I have found, however, that by proper design of the motor and itsconnections with the gyroscope that it may be made to perform severaladditional functions. Mounted on the motor shaft 41 is a worm 42 whichdrives the worm wheel 43. A pinion 44 mounted on the worm wheel shaftmeshes with the large gear sector 45 on the casing of the gyroscope, sothat the rotation of the motor in either direction will cause forcedoscillation of the gyroscope, while any tendency for the gyroscope tooscillate independently of the motor will be resisted by the worm andworm wheel connection. Since these forces exerted by the gyroscopebecome exceedingly powerful when the sea is rough, and since I havefound it very desirable that these forces should be absorbed to a greatextent, I mount on the worm shaft one or more power absorbing thrustbearings 46 (see Fig. 9). Preferably I secure to the worm shaft a collar47 which is circumferentially grooved as at 48 and provided with oilducts 49 so that it may be properly cooled and lubricated. The collar ismounted between fixed thrust bearing blocks 50 and 51 so as to absorbthe thrust in either direction. vided with radial ducts 60, whichcommunicate with ducts 49 through the center of the blocks. Also mountedon the motor shaft ori other 'p .rt of the precession engine is anautomatic brake mechanism 50, which is de- 115 signed to be applied whenthe motor is rendered inoperative, or when it exceeds a predeterminedspeed. This mechanism preferably comprises one or more pivoted brakeshoes 51 and 52 which are connected by a 120 link 53 and bell cranklever 54, sothat when the lever is thrust downwardly the brake isapplied. Connectedadjacent one end of lever 54 is a solenoid 55 orvother electro-mechanical device which normally holds the In addition tothe above described brak- Said blocks are pro- 110 ing means a positivestop may be provided for the gyroscope to linut its oscillations.

This stop may be positioned at 6l near thcy low cylindrical portion 64,secured to a base by means of side flanges 65, and a double actingspring pressed plunger 66. San

plunger is slidably mounted within the cylinder and is centrallypositioned therein b v means of springs 67 and 68. Lug 62 is secured toplunger 66 and projects through a cutaway portion 69 in the wall of thecylinder 64. When the projection 63, for instance, strikes lug 62 theplunger is moved against the action of spring 68, thereby quicklyclosing the slight clearance which exists between the end of the plungerand the closed portion of the cylinder 64 beyond thecutaway portions 69and 70. The movement of the plunger is then powerfully resisted by theoil within the cylinder, since the oil canvonly escape through a smallopening 72, thereby quickly bringing the gyroscope to rest. To positionproperly the springs within the cylinder and piston a limit device maybe provided in the shape of a rod or bolt 73 provided with awasher 74against which the inner end of the spring bears.

The electrical control of the gyroscope is effected in the main by meansof an auxiliary gyro '75 (Fig. '7) which in practice is made-very muchsmaller than the main gyro. It is shown as mounted upon a horizontalspinning axis which is placed athwartship in ig. 7 with a verticalprecession axis 77, although it is obvious that the same result may beobtained by making the spinning axis vertical as is'done with the maingyro. Said auxiliary gyro is designed to control the precession motor 40by completing contacts through its precessional movement as is disclosedin my co-pending application No. 716 above referred to. Resilienteentralizing means may be provided for the gyro which may assume theform of spring pressed pins 78 and 79 which bear against the lug 80 onthe gyro casing. A spring -81 is positioned between the end of each pinand an upright arm 82, which is preferably adjustable about a.

pivot 83 so as to vary the tension of the spring as by means of a thumbnut 183. Means are also provided to vary the sensitiveness of the gyro,since it is found that the gyro `may be too sensitive in responding toslight disturbances on the ship, such as the jar f the engines, andthereby throw unnecessary Work upon the main gyro. For this purpose thevertical precession pivots 77 may be providedl with friction blocks 84.These blocks are pressed upon the vertical ring 85 of the gyro by meansof springs 86, the tension of which may be readily adjusted by means ofscrew plugs 87. In addition or in place of the friction blocks, justdescribed, a brake shoe may be provided at 88 to act directly on thering 85 at a point where its movement about the vertical axis isrelatively much greater than near pivot points 77.

The precession contacts are shown only in dotted lines Fig. 7, at 89 butare shown in detail and on a larger scale in Fig. 8. The contact blocks90 and 91 are mounted on the end of the gyro casing or ring 85,preferably by being secured to the bent spring 91 so that a yieldingyand self-cleaning contact will be made thereby with the complementarycontacts 92 and 93. Said contacts are mounted on brackets 94 fixed tothe ship so that a circuit will be completed on precession of thegyroscope in either direction. Contacts 92 and 93 are shown asadjustable.

The precession motor 40 is controlled from said contacts through theintermediary of the reversing relay. 95, shown in Fig. 10, whichreverses, in the embodiment shown, the armature connections of said'motor When the precession conta-cts are changed. As soon, therefore, asthe ship starts to roll, the motor 40 is actuated to accelerate theprecession and thereby damp the oscillations at their inception. If theoverturning influence is continued and exceptionally strong, however, adiferent condition is presented, which must be met in a different way.In other Words, under such conditions it is found more desirable tobrake the precession than to accelerate it. I automatically accomplishthis result by designing the motor to run at a comparatively constantspeed, when energized, so that When a force exerted by awave l on thegyro gudgeons exceeds a predetermined amount, it will tend to causeprecession of the gyro at a rate greater than the speed of the motor 40,and a powerful braking effect will be exerted through the worm wheel 43,worm 42 and power absorbing thrust bearings 46, as explained above. The

brake 50 may be used to materially aid in preventing the motor 40 frombeing accelerated beyond a predetermined speed by connecting it inseries with the motor Aand designing it so that when thecurrentfpas'sing 120 through solenoid 55 drops .below a predeterminedamount,v the brake is applied with a, pressure inversely proportional`'to'. .the feurrent ilowing. As motor 40r4 is v.preferably shunt wound,it will befseen vthat by-'this 125 means an accurate speed governor isattained, since the current passino through a shunt motor variesinversely as t c armature speed. `This braking effect is furtherincreased by breaking the motor circuit and applying brake 50 thereto,and when the precession of the gyroscope exceeds a predetermined amount.The switches to accomplish this result are shown at 100 and 101 in Fig.10. It will be seen from this ligure that each switch. will open thecircuit through one of the precession contacts, only, so that theinstant the ship starts to roll in the opposite direction anuninterrupted circuit will be completed to drive the motor 40 in thereverse direction. Switches 100 and 101 may be constructed as shown, inFig. 6. Each switch comprises an arm 102 pivoted at 103 and providedwith a switch blade 104 and knob 105. A cam 106 is secured to the gyrocasing so as to strike either a knob 105 on arm 102 or the correspondingknob 105 on arm 102', when the gyro precesses on its gudgeons 2, 3 inone direction or the other.

This engagement will break the contact between blade 104 and fixed.blades 107 and thereby break the circuit through the armature of motor40 and solenoid 55 made through contacts 108 and 109 of relay 95, whichare held closed by the contact of eitherpair ofprecession contacts 90,92 or 91 and 93 depending, on the position of reversing switch 110. Eachswitch is normally held closed by a spring 100'.. But just as soon asthe shin Starts to roll in the opposite direction, the other pair ofprecession contacts will be closed, causing the closing of contacts 111and 112 of the relay and the completion of a circuit through the otherlimit switch 101 thus sending current in the opposite direction througharmature 40.

The operation of my invention is,- in general, as follows Whether theapparatus is to be used as a stabilizing or rolling device dependssimply on the position of reversing switch 110. Vhen the switch ispositioned so that impulses will be imparted to the ship in thedirection that it is rolling at the time, it will, of course, increasethe roll and cause a continuous and increasing oscillation of the ship.Of course, in order to have the device operate in this manner, aninitial slight roll must be imparted to the ship. In most cases this isimparted by the waves, but it may be done artificially by completing acontact between points 91 and 93 or 90 and 92, as by turning fingerpieces 190. The motor 40 will then cause the ship to heel until therighting moment exceeds the gyroscoping moment or until limit switch 100or 101 is reached, when it will be reversed by the opposite precessionof gyroscope 75.

When the switch 110 is reversed, gyroscope 1 will stabilize the ship, asexplained above. p Upon the first tendency of the ship to roll thesensitive gyroscope 7 5 will complete a contact and cause the precessionengine to exert a force about the precession axis of the main gyroscope,thereby exerting scope, which is directly responsive to the angularvelocity of roll. If the rolling impulse is powerful and continued, theforce exerted by the ship upon the gudgeons of the gyroscope will besuiiicient to cause the natural precession of the gyroscope to be.

greater than that caused by the precession engine. Therefore, asexplained, the worm and worm wheel will act as a brake about theprecession axis. If the rolling impulse is continued still longer, thegyroscopel will strike limit switch 100 or 101 and thus stop theprecession engine, and exert a powerfulk brake on the gyroscope. On orabout the same instant the positive limit stop 62 will be struck.However, as soon as the ship starts to roll in the other direction,

the control gyroscope 75 will complete the.

circuit through the other limit switch,

which, as explained, is normally held closed,y

so that a stabilizing eHect will immediately be exerted, so that theapparatus is at all times in phase with Vthe roll of the ship. As thegyroscope swings back and forth upon its gudgeons the oil will beelevated from the lower bearing to the upper through my novel system ofcoiled tubing, andat the same time the entire gyroscope will be cooledby the lower bearing wasning through the liquld in vtank 36.

In accordance, with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have hereindescribed the principle of operation of my invention, ur gether with theapparatus, which I now consider to represent the best embodimentthereof,but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is onlyillustrative and that the invention can be carried `out by other means.Also, while it is designed to use the various features and elements inthe combination 'and relations described, some of these may be alteredand others omitted without interfering with the general resultsoutlined, and the invention extends to such use.

I claim:

1. In a gyroscopic stabilizing or rolling apparatus, a main gyroscopemounted for precessional movements, power means for governing theprecessional movement, and a limit device on said gyroscope for causingsaid power means to stop.

dering said power means inoperative.

3. The combination with a gyroscope, of

means for controlling the oscillations thereof including a constantspeed motor, a`worm and worm wheel in the connections between the motorand the gyroscope and power absorbing thrust bearings for the worm.

'4. The combination with a gyroscope, of

l l means for controlling the oscillations there- 15 ofincluding amotor, a worm and worm wheelin the connections between the motor and thegyroscope, power absorbing thrust bearings for the worm, and means forstopping said motor at a predetermined portion of the oscillations,whereby the oscillations of the gyroscope are limited.v

5. The combination with a ships gyroscope, a precession' engine forcontrolling said gyroscope, a controller for said engine adapted toreverse its action when the roll of the ship reverses, and a limit meansadapted to render the said controller inoperative tocause said engine tooperate in a predetermined direction while leaving said engine free tobe operated in the reverse d1- rection by said controller.

6. The combination with a ships gyroscope, a precession engine forcontrolling said gyroscope, a controller for said engine adapted toreverse its action when the roll of the ship reverses, and a limit meansmounted on the gyroscope adapted to disconnect the operative side ofthecontroller and the engine when the precession in 011e directionexceeds a predetermined amount while leaving the other side of thecontroller free to actuate said engine in the reverse direction as soonas the ship starts to roll in the oppositel direction.l

7. The combination with a sh1ps gyroscope, of a controlling motortherefor, and

a v governing means for said motor including a shut-olf deviceresponsive to the precession of saidgyroscope.

8. The combination with an oscillatory body of a roscope thereonmounted' for precession with respect' thereto, and .a ylelding limitstop for said gyroscope adapted to preventprecession of said gyroscopebeyond a predetermined angle.

9. The combination with a ships gyroscope, of a controlling motor and abrake therefor, and a governingmeans for said motor-including` ashut-off vdevice responsive to the precession of said gyroscope forstopping the motor and applying the brake.

10. A cooling system for gyroscopes comprising a rotor, a bearing frametherefor mounted for oscillation abouta horizontal axis, a receptacleadapted to contain a liquid mounted adjacent the base of said gyro-rscope, whereby a portion of said frame is washed through the liquid bythe oscillation of the gyroscope. l

11. In a vertical gyroscope having upper and lower rotor bearings andmounted for oscillation about a horizontal axis, an oiling and Coolingsystem comprising meansy i vfor raising the oil from the lower bearingto 'a point adjacent the u per bearingmeans whereby the oil may etransferred to the lower bearing, and extraneous cooling means for saidoil. 12. In a vertical gyroscope having upper and lower rotor bearingsand mounted for oscillation about a horizontal axis, an oiling andcooling system comprising means for raising the oil from the lowerbearing to a polnt adjacent the upper bearing, means whereby the oil maybe transferred to the lower bearing and a receptacleadapt'ed to containa liquid mounted adjacent the base of said gyroscope whereby thel lowerrotor bearing is washed through the liquid by the oscillation of thegyroscope.

13. In a vertical gyroscope having upper and lower rotor bearings andmounted for oscillation about a horizontal axis, means for raising oilfrom the lower bearing to a point adjacent the upper bearing comprisinga pipe coiled in such manner as to cause the gradual elevation of theoil by the 0scillations of the gyroscope on its horizontal axis.

14. In a vertical gyroscope having upper and lower rotor bearings andmounted for oscillation about a horizontal axis, means for raising oilfrom the lower bearing to a "point adjacent the upper bearing comprisinga pipe coiled in a series of reverse bends connected by portions whichare inclined at such an angle that their directions of inclination arereversed when the gyroscope is oscillated.

15. In a gyroscope mounted for oscillation with reference to itssupport, a journal bearing therefor, means for causlng a circulation ofoil through the bearing comprising a pipe or duct shaped in such amanner as to cause a gradual elevation of the oil from a lower to ahigher point of such bearing by successive oscillations of the gyroabouta horizontal axis, the combination with a bearing therefor of means forcausing a circulation of oil through 4the bearing, comprising a pipe orduct shaped in such a manner as to cause a gradual elevation of the oilfrom a lower to a higher point of suchy bearing by successiveoscillations of the device.

18. The combination vwith a gyroscope, of means for controlling theoscillations thereof including a motor, and means responsive to thespeed of the motor for applying a brake, whereby the rate of precessionis limited.

19. The combination with a gyroscope mounted for precession about anaxis, braking means connected therewith, a control device for said meansbrought into operation by the extent of precession, and a second controldevice for said means brought into action by the speed of precession ofsaid gyroscope.

20. The combination with a gyroscope, of means for braking the sameabout a precessional axis, and means responsive to precession beyond apredetermined limit for applying said braking means.

21. The combination with a gyroscope, of means for controlling theoscillations thereof including a motor. a brake for limiting theoscillations of the gyroscope, yielding means normally holding saidbrake applied, and electromagnetic means in circuit with said motor forwithholding the brake, whereby the brake is applied whenever the currentpassing through the motoryis reduced below a predetermined amount.

22. In combination with a gyroscope, of means for braking the same abouta precessional axis, means responsive t-o thespeed ot' precession forapplying said braking.

means and means responsive to precession beyond a predetermined limitalso for applying said braking means.

In testimony whereof I havek affixed my signature.

ELMER A. SPERRY. i

